Tennis-racket



(N6 odel. I G. MALING'S.'

TENNIS RAOKET.

No. 472,659. Patent-ed Apr. 12, 1892.

wih wweo {AM/M amuawto z/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES MALINGS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE AMERICAN PATENTS COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA,

PENNSYLVANIA.

TENNlS-RACK'ET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,659, dated April 12, 1892. Application filed October 28, 1890. Serial No. 369,572- (No model.) Patented in England July 27, 1885, No. 9,080.

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES MALINGS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tennis-Rackets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in racketbats intended to be used in playing lawntennis and other similar games; and it consists in the novel construction hereinafter set forth, embodying increased strength, greater durability, and more or less flexibility at the neck or point of union between the handle and the bow, where the racket is subjected to the greatest strains and most likely to be broken while in use, thereby materially reducin g the liability to breakage and prolonging the life of the article.

The invention has heretofore been patented to me in Great Britain under No. 9,030, dated July 27, 1885.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a racket embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on the line a: as, Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a detail view.

The frame of the racket consists of the handle A, the box B, and the filling or throat piece C, these parts being of peculiar construction at their meeting faces or point of connection and fitted and secured together, as will be presently described. The parts thus specified are made separately and from any suitable material, but consist, preferably, of wood in its solid form, although they may in some instances be made from composite blocks or strips built up in the usual way.

The body portion of the handle is of ordinary shape, while its upper extremity is gradually tapered or beveled off on its opposite sides at a a, to form an elongated wedgeshaped end b, the inclined faces of which constitute bearings or seats for the ends of the yoke. The yoke ends 0 c are in like manner cut away or beveled on the inner sides at d d, and these beveled sides bear or fit against the sides a a of the end of the handle, as best shown in Fig. 1, the taper of the parts being such that the yoke gradually vanishes into and conforms to the outline of the handle without presenting any projections or abrupt ends.

To brace and otherwise strengthen the connection between the yoke and the handle, the filling or throat piece 0 is employed, which is of a substantial wedge shape, with its side faces a e conforming to the inner sides of the yoke ends.

A recess f, with converging sides, is provided at the inner or small end of the throatpiece, and this recess is adapted to receive and fit over the tapering end I) of the handle when the parts are adjusted to position, the forked ends of the throat-piece thereby filling the spaces between said end of the handle and the adjacent sides of the yoke.

The parts of the frame as thus constructed and arranged may be secured together in any desired way to form a strong and firm joint, the preferable manner of securing them being by gluing the contiguous faces and by passing screws 9 g or other fastening devices crosswise through the parts, as shown.

Instead of making the throat-piece of a single block in the manner preferred and above described, it may insome instances consist of two separate parts, as indicated by dotted lines h in Fig. 3 and in this case the end I) of the handle is prolonged slightly to extend entirely through between the wedgeshaped parts to make a joint. 1

In the completed racket the usual side pieces D (best shown in Fig. 2) are applied to the opposite faces of the handle to hide thejoints and to give the handle afinished appearance and make it convenient to the hand of the user.

Although, as before intimated, the parts of the frame are preferably, though not necessarily, constructed of wood and may be of any desired kind, the handle is ordinarily made of cane, because of its light weight and superior strength, while the throat-piece consists of rosewood, mahogany, or other wood of a contrasting color, thereby giving a neat finish to the article and greatlyimprovingits general appearance.

The racket-frame constructed as above forth possesses superior advantages overt e rackets now in use, in that theparts are firmly and securely united at the throat or point of greatest strain, while at the same time they are so connected as to afford elasticity sulficient to withstand ordinary strains and prevent the breakage incident to the more rigid structures at present employed. A further advantage arises from the fact that in case any part of the frame should become broken the broken member may be easily and quickly replaced by a new one.

Vithout limiting myself to the particular details shown, I claim- A racket for tennis, &c., consisting of a handle having a wedge-shaped end, a yoke having beveled ends conforming to and fitting against said handle end, and a throat-piece provided with a recess to receive the end of the handle and filling the spaces between the handle and yoke, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 20 name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES MALINGS. Witnesses:

FREDERIC ULLMANN, GEORGE B. OREILLY. 

